Apple And Samsung Considering Liquid-Cooling To Make Slimmer Phones That Won't Get Warm

A report from DigiTimes claims that smartphone giants Apple, Samsung, and HTC are all looking into using liquid-cooling in future devices.

Normally reserved for high-end gaming computers that can't dissipate the heat generated by their processors with fans alone, liquid-cooling uses small amounts of fluid pumped through a pipe to efficiently move heat away from vital components.

9to5Mac notes that NEC released a phone in Japan last month that's targeted at " women who apparently complained about the heat generated by smartphones." The phone contained the same high-end chips that one would see in a top-of-the-line Samsung phone, but thanks to liquid-cooling adapted from Ultrabooks, the phone stays cool even with intense use.

Unfortunately, it's unlikely that we'll see liquid-cooling in devices released this year. According to the DigiTimes story, cooling module manufacturers are only seeing a small fraction of their small form-factor liquid-cooling units function properly. We're going to have to wait until they get the process down before enough can be made for Apple and Samsung's needs.